A NUMBER of government-employed contractors, who the government owes almost half a billion dollars, have stopped work on projects across the island.

Transport and Works Minister Bobby Pickersgill made the announcement in Parliament on Tuesday, in response to questions posed by parliamentarian Joseph Hibbert of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party, about the level of the state’s indebtedness for road works and other projects.

The payments are overdue even after government recently paid out nearly half-a-billion dollars to its more than 100 contractors.

Pickersgill said there has been a shift in the implementation schedule of various works, as contractors have suspended their operations on some projects.

Among those who have stopped working are:

* SG Simpson and Build-Rite Construction, companies that are both working in Clarendon;

* YP Seaton, which is working in St Mary and St Thomas;

* Channus Block and Marl, Portland

* BF Pavement in Westmoreland; and

* VO Watson in St Mary.

According to Pickersgill, contracts valued at more than $4 million were due interest for late payment, according to the provisions in the particular contract documents. He could not provide specific figures, however, as “the process of calculation of interest for late payments is still being done as to date most contractors have not submitted claims for such payments”.

Discussions were ongoing, he said, with the finance ministry to pay the remaining bills as soon as funds are available.

Pickersgill also noted that to date the government “has spent nearly $10 billion on road rehabilitation and repair, and, as I have demonstrated here, we are not only concerned to continue this unprecedented expenditure on Jamaica’s infrastructure but also to meet our obligations to our contractors”.

The $10 billion spent dates back to April 2001, at the inception of the National Works Agency and covers road rehabilitation and construction work done islandwide by that entity which took over the functions of the former Public Works Department (PWD).

The transport and works minister also responded to questions posed by Opposition MP Barrington Gray as to whether the approaches to the newly constructed bridges on the North Coast Highway were sinking.

“While corrective action was required at the approaches to six of the eight newly constructed bridges on Segment 1 of the highway, the bridges themselves are sound, and do not require corrective action,” Pickersgill responded.

He said the corrective works required at the six approaches to the bridges was due to the settling “of the embankment that forms part of the approach to the bridges”.

Pickersgill said that the cost to correct the problems would be jointly absorbed by the consultant responsible for the design and the contractor responsible for the construction of the embankment.

“It is estimated that the cost to repair each approach is $2 million, therefore an estimated $12 million is to be spent to repair the six sunken approaches,” Pickersgill said